Brewers Can't Quite Overcome Mistakes, Lose 4-3 To Cardinals To Fall Behind 2-1 In NLCS

W: Chris Carpenter (2-0)
L: Yovani Gallardo (1-1)
S: Jason Motte (3)

HR: Mark Kotsay (1)

MVP: Mark Kotsay (+.144)
LVP: Prince Fielder (-.196)

Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting

Many of us spent several hours before tonight's game decrying the decision to start Mark Kotsay in center field tonight. He only took one inning to do everything we were worried about.

His night got off to a good start, as he walked in the first. Then he was picked off second when he wandered too far off second base on a fly ball. And in the bottom half of the inning he demonstrated that he's not a major league center fielder: Two balls that Carlos Gomez or Nyjer Morgan would likely catch fell in as the Cardinals plated four runs.

The Brewers scored two in the top of the second and another in the third (on Kotsay's home run) to make it close, but neither team scored again after that. Milwaukee chased Chris Carpenter from the game after five innings, but the Cardinal bullpen retired twelve Brewers in a row to end the game.

Yovani Gallardo was in big trouble after the first, but recovered to give the Brewers five innings. He allowed the four runs on eight hits and four walks, striking out just two. 

Chris Narveson pitched the eighth inning tonight, meaning he's unlikely at best to make the start if the Brewers force a Game 6.